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Marijuana use in hepatitis C infection does not affect liver biopsy histology or treatment outcomes.

Authors: Theresa Liu, Glen T Howell, Lucy Turner, Kimberley Corace, Gary Garber, Curtis Cooper
Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, July-August 2014

BACKGROUND: Marijuana smoking is prevalent among hepatitis C virus-infected patients. The literature assessing the influence of marijuana on liver disease progression and hepatitis C virus antiviral treatment outcomes is conflicting. METHODS: The authors evaluated hepatitis C…

Cannabinoid receptor 2-mediated attenuation of CXCR4-tropic HIV infection in primary CD4+ T cells.

Authors: Cristina Maria Costantino, Achla Gupta, Alice W. Yewdall, Benjamin M. Dale, et al
PLoS One, 2012

Agents that activate cannabinoid receptor pathways have been tested as treatments for cachexia, nausea or neuropathic pain in HIV-1/AIDS patients. The cannabinoid receptors (CB(1)R and CB(2)R) and the HIV-1 co-receptors, CCR5 and CXCR4, all signal via Gαi-coupled pathways. We…

Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) inhibits lytic replication of gamma oncogenic herpesviruses in vitro.

Authors: Maria M. Medveczky, Tracy A. Sherwood, Thomas W. Klein, Herman Friedman, Peter G. Medveczky
BMC Medicinevolume, 15 September 2004

BACKGROUND: The major psychoactive cannabinoid compound of marijuana, delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), has been shown to modulate immune responses and lymphocyte function. After primary infection the viral DNA genome of gamma herpesviruses persists in lymphoid cell nuclei i…